New Year, New Space for DPSSS

The Department of Public Safety and Security Service's new communication center will allow officers to monitor the campus through the University's internal and external cameras. Photo by Danielle Lacey

In December, as the University prepared to close for Christmas, officers and staff members of the Department of Public Safety and Security Services moved from DuBourg Hall to their new offices in the Marvin and Harlene Wool Center.

DPSSS's new 6,000 square-foot location is nearly double the size of its previous space, and includes new officer locker rooms, a roll call room, a holding cell and expanded office space for support staff. The $1.5 million expansion, which began in late 2010, is a part of the University's larger effort to enhance safety and security on campus.

The highlight of the new DPSSS space, however, is the department's new communication center. Six large, wall-mounted screens will enable officers to monitor the campus via 500 of the University's internal security cameras. The communication center also features computer-aided dispatch, which will allow officers to respond more quickly to emergency calls. The center will be staffed 24-hours a day, with an officer monitoring the security cameras at all times.

DPSSS hopes to install more external cameras on surface lots, parking garages and University entrances along major streets and intersections.